| | ATLANTA -- Hey, what's wrong with Kevin Millwood?
After pitching a one-hitter for the Atlanta Braves in the
opening round of the playoffs, Millwood was roughed up for five
hits by the New York Mets in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series
Wednesday.
|  | | Kevin Millwood said he only had "C-" stuff in his Game 2 start. |
Seriously, Millwood is putting together a dominating postseason,
with victories in his first two starts and a save in his spare
time.
"He's a battler, a warrior," Chipper Jones said after Millwood
and the Braves defeated New York 4-3 to go ahead 2-0 in the best-of-7
series. "I will take him on my team any day."
Forget Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. The most
overpowering starter in Atlanta these days is the 24-year-old
Millwood, who allowed only two earned runs in 7 2/3 innings even
though his repertoire of pitches was -- by his own estimation --
mediocre.
The Mets, of course, may have a different feeling.
"Kevin is not standing in the shadows to anyone anymore,"
Jones said. "He had his coming-out party this year."
Kevin Millwood's Game Log
Millwood has been dominating since Aug. 13:
DATE
Aug. 13
Aug. 18
Aug. 23
Aug. 28
Sep. 3
Sep. 8
Sep. 14
Sep. 19
Sep. 24
Sep. 30
Oct. 6
Oct. 8
Oct. 13
|
OPP
@LA
@Col
Cin
@StL
Ari
StL
@SD
Mon
@Mon
@NYN
Hou
@Hou
NYM
|
IP
8.0
8.0
7.0
10.0
8.0
6.0
7.0
9.0
7.0
7.0
9.0
1.0
7.1
|
H
3
2
3
2
5
7
5
7
3
5
1
0
5
|
R
2
1
2
0
1
2
1
1
3
2
1
0
3
|
ER
1
1
2
0
1
2
1
1
0
2
1
0
2
|
HR
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
|
BB
4
1
1
1
0
1
2
1
1
1
0
0
1
|
SO
9
7
4
9
10
6
12
6
7
5
8
1
4
|
DEC
W
-
W
-
W
W
W
W
-
-
W
SV
W
|
ERA
3.28
3.18
3.16
2.98
2.91
2.91
2.85
2.78
2.69
2.68
---
---
---
|
Totals |
|
IP
94.1 |
H
48 |
R
19 |
ER
14 |
HR
9 |
BB
14 |
SO
88 |
W - L
8 - 0 |
ERA
1.34 |
Millwood didn't pitch at all last postseason. Even
after winning 17 games a year ago, he watched from the bullpen
while the Braves lost to San Diego in the NLCS.
This year, Millwood is a major reason the Braves are just two
victories from their first World Series since 1996.
"I just tried to keep us in the game and give us a chance to
put some numbers up on the board and win the game," he said
nonchalantly, as if he had just pitched a game in April rather than
October. "That's what we did."
Millwood allowed the Mets more hits in the first two innings
than he gave up in Game 2 of the Division Series against Houston.
But, after falling behind 1-0, he retired 18 of the next 19
hitters.
"If I had to grade my stuff, I would give myself an 'A' for
Houston and probable a 'C-minus' today," Millwood said. "I
thought my stuff today was some of the worst I've had in a while.
But the longer I went through the ballgame, the better my stuff
seemed to get."
Finally, after an error by Jones led to an unearned run in the
eighth, Braves manager Bobby Cox trudged to the mound to take the
ball from Millwood's hand for the first time in the postseason.
On his way to the dugout, Millwood was given a standing ovation
by an Atlanta crowd that has been treated to magnificent pitching
throughout the decade. Now, it's going to be their treat to watch
Millwood for the next decade or so.
In the opening round, Millwood took the mound in a must-win
situation against the Astros, who won Game 1 and threatened to
return to Houston with a commanding advantage in the best-of-5
series.
Millwood turned away the Astros with the first complete-game
one-hitter in the postseason in 32 years. He allowed a
second-inning homer by Ken Caminiti and faced only two hitters
above the minimum.
Millwood wasn't finished. When the series shifted to the
Astrodome, he told Cox he was ready to pitch an inning or two if
needed. In the 12th inning of a magnificent game, he was needed,
setting down the Astros in order to save a 5-3 victory.
On Wednesday, Roger Cedeno's run-scoring single in the second
gave New York a 1-0 lead. Millwood then retired the next 10
hitters.
Melvin Mora homered on a 2-0 fastball with two outs in the fifth
-- "You can't make that pitch to a major-league hitter," Millwood
said -- and the Mets had a 2-0 lead. The Atlanta pitcher rebounded
to retire eight more in a row.
In the midst of that streak, the Braves broke through. Brian
Jordan and Eddie Perez hit two-run homers in the sixth to stick a
dagger through the Mets.
Millwood breezed through the seventh and got pinch-hitter Matt
Franco on a liner leading off the eighth before Jones let Mora's
grounder slip under his glove. Millwood worked the count to 1-2
before Edgardo Alfonzo lined a fastball to the wall in left-center,
bringing home Mora from first.
That was it for Millwood, but John Rocker preserved the lead by
striking out John Olerud and Robin Ventura before Smoltz worked the
ninth for the first save of his major-league career.
| |
ALSO SEE
Mets vs. Braves series page
Perez plays hero as Braves edge Mets 4-3
Roges sails smoothly until the sixth
 |
